Women's Basketball Tops Tornados
The Mars Hill women’s basketball team led from start to finish as they earned a 78-75 at Brevard on Wednesday night in South Atlantic Conference action.
BREVARD, N.C. – The Mars Hill women's basketball team led from start to finish as they earned a 78-75 at Brevard on Wednesday night in South Atlantic Conference action. The Lions improve to 8-17 overall and 7-14 in the league, while Brevard falls to 7-18 and 6-16 in conference play.
Mars hill had three players reach double figures, led by Ansley Ricker's 21 points. Kelsey Espinosa scored 16 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds, with Paige Chavis contributing a season-high 15 points in the win.
Brevard was led by Shelby Wolfe's 20 points, with Chelsea Turner and Madison Lennox each scoring 15 points. Katie Williams and Taylor Hiatt added 10 points each.
Mars Hill took a 3-0 lead on a Paige Chavis 3-pointer 55 seconds into the game. Brevard tied the game on a Chelsea Turner 3-pointer just over 30 seconds later. Mars Hill and Brevard stayed close for the next six minutes with the Lions leading by no more than six points with a 14-14 tie with 12 minutes to go in the half. Mars Hill went on a 10-2 run, taking a 24-16 lead with just over 10 minutes to play, with Brevard trimming the Lion advantage to one, 33-32, following a Williams 3-pointer with 6:10 remaining. The Lions answered, pulling ahead 44-37 with 2:41 left to play before a Wolfe jumper brought Brevard back to within two points, 44-42 with 1:24 remaining. Mars Hill went on a 6-0 run, including a Genice Lane layup with nine seconds left, to end the half with a 50-42 lead. Mars Hill and Brevard each made seven three-pointers in the first half.
The Lions extended their lead to a game-high 11 points, 55-44, following a Chavis layup with 17 minutes to play in the game. Brevard went on an 8-1 run to pull within four points, 56-52, with 13:46 remaining. The Tornados got to within a point, 62-61, with 8:14 to play before Mars Hill went on a 10-0 run for a 71-61 lead following a Brittany Baker jumper with 5:19 left. Brevard didn't go quietly, pulling to within three points after a Lennox 3-pointer with 19 seconds to play, but Williams missed an attempt to tie the game with four seconds left as the Lions held on for the victory.
Mars Hill took advantage of 26 free throw attempts, going 21-for-26 from the charity stripe for an 80.8 free throw percentage. Brevard went 8-for-12 from behind the free throw line.
Mars Hill wraps up the season against Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday with a 2 p.m. tipoff in Stanford Arena.
